Giveaway and Book Review of I Kissed a
Dog
The
Werewolves of the West Series Book One
Sponsored by Bewitching Book Tours
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I Kissed a
Dog
The
Werewolves of the West Series Book One
Carol Van
Atta
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Cambridge Press US under the umbrella
of Charles River Press (CRP)
ISBN: 1936185725
ISBN13: 9781936185726
ASIN: B009SV179U
Number of pages: 446
Cover Artist: Ann Falcone
Blurb
:
Chloe
Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she
unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.
In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally
found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her
unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care.
That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his
spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd
roar right back out.
Problem:
He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four
hours.
Zane
Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do
- figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.
With
orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working
alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more
than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential
to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.
Problem:
She despises him.
Together,
they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous
mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover
opposites really do attract.
Major
Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him
from Chloe.
About the
Author:
Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to
the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening
illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative
writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's
Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.
Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol
developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost
always be found with her nose in a book.
She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and
devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying
teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an
undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker
side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul
Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol
discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an
unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.
Contacts:
Book Trailer:
Giveaway:
Excerpt:
“Calm down,
Missy.” Zane hovered over the female Zebra. His current caring demeanor belied
his feral nature as a werewolf.
Standing just
inside the door, I could sense Missy’s terror. She saw Zane as a hunter not a
healer. I wondered if he was even a real veterinarian.
“Are you
planning to help or just watch me struggle?’ Zane asked, eyebrows raised.
“Oh, I don’t
know. She thinks you’re going to eat her for breakfast.”
“You think you’re so cute, don’t you? Do you
have any idea what you’ve got us into?” He moved away from the squirming filly
to face me.
“Me?” How in
the world could he blame me for his brutal rampage? And why did I still find
him so darn delectable? My so-called disgust had vanished, replaced by an
unacceptable craving to feel his mouth on mine. I forced myself to think of the
bloody men in the field. That did the trick. My loathing returned.
“Yes! You! When
I said ‘stay in the bar,’ did that not mean stay
in the bar?” He stepped closer, glaring down at me, his eyes wild with fury
and something I couldn’t discern.
Backing up, I
found myself pressed against the wall. Icy fear froze my mouth, keeping me from
spouting off.
“What have you
done to me, Chloe Carpenter?” Taking another step, he reduced the distance
between us. I could smell his musky cologne and feel his body heat.
“You’re scaring
me,” I peeped.
“It’s about
time something scared you.”
Without warning,
he reached around the back of my head with one vast hand, drawing my mouth to
his.
His lips
pressed against mine; I melted — my knees all rubbery. Sensing my dilemma, his
other hand slid around my waist pulling me closer.
To my dismay,
he was hard — everywhere.
A little moan
escaped from the back of my throat as I parted my lips, allowing him to explore
my mouth. Sighing with pleasure, my hands moved of their own accord, finding
their way around his neck and into the thickness of his dark waves. His hair
was as I’d imagined, soft yet dense.
A delicious wildness hummed between us, I was
reeling from its intensity.
Missy’s
distinct braying-bark tore through my mind, reminding me I was locking lips
with a vicious, inhuman beast, all while the zebra looked on, fearing not only
for her own safety, but also, from the images she was firing my way, for mine.
“The zebra
needs you,” I whispered.
“From what I
can tell, you need me more.” Zane
smirked.
“O-o-o-o-o …
you.” The words wouldn’t form.
So much for
self-control.
Deciding to
hammer my raging hormones into submission, I approached Missy with caution. I
could see the pain and terror in her eyes. Apprehensive, she snorted as Zane
moved closer.
“You’re scaring
her. How can you be a vet when the animals see you as a predator?”
“I’m great with
lions, tigers, and bears, oh my.”
For a moment I
just stared — a werewolf joking about the Wizard
of Oz. Could things get any stranger?
I should have
known better than even to think the question.
Just for Fun and Just
Because: Both Chloe and Zane work with animals at a wildlife park in the
fictional town of Plum Beach, Oregon. Plum Beach is actually a substitution for
the real coastal town on the Oregon Coast: Bandon. Bandon is home to the West
Coast Game Park Safari, which was the model for the Plum Beach Wildlife Park.
If you’re ever in the neighborhood, you’ll want to visit. You can actually pet
baby animals … like lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! The photo below is from
one of my trips to the wildlife park. That is my hand on the lion cub.
Book Review:
So, if
you were to pick the weirdest person/paranorm for a vet, what would it be? Personally I would pick a werewolf… or a
vampire, but only if they ate animal blood exclusively and you rarely find
that. But that’s the genius of this
book, the vet and romantic foil is a werewolf.
And our heroine talks or communicates with animals… and guess what? Generally speaking, they don’t like having a Were
as a vet.
Fabulous
concept. I love the tension between Zane
and Chloe. Such a great romance
novel. And the mystery is so fun. Although sometimes I just wanted to take them
aside and say.. “Seriously, you need to just accept that you like each
other. It would solve so many problems.” Although it creates problems of its own. ;)
I give
this book 4 out of 5 clouds.
This
product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my
opinions or reviews.
